StarCraft Ghost: Black
by Cstan
Summary: Four years after the BroodWar the Terran Dominion sends their most feared ghost, Nova, onto a mission which could alter the fate of the Koprulu Sector forever.
1. Prologue: Falling into Darkness

_Hello and welcome to my first fanfiction! I hope you're going to enjoy my little story about Ghost no. 12-862, also known as Nova. Please leave a review of any kind after reading my chapters so that I can improve my writing style so you can enjoy this story as much as I do. I will bring in information from the book StarCraft Ghost: Nova by Keith R. A. DeCandido and from TokyoPop's StarCraft Ghost Academy (which I haven't read yet so please forgive my mistakes I'm bound to make)._

**Disclaimer: **StarCraft is copyright to Blizzard Entertainment and doesn't belong to me.

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StarCraft Ghost: Black

-Prologue: Falling into Darkness-

Lying on the surgery table Nova couldn't help but feel nervous, excited and, most of all, happy.

_Finally, _she thought, _the day I've been looking forward to for two and a half years! The day on which my memories will finally be erased and I no longer have the hear the voices of the 424 people whom I either killed or whose deaths I witnessed._

She positioned herself to be more comfortable and while she waited for the procedure to begin her thoughts traveled to her family, who had been murdered three years ago, except for her sister Clara but Nova never found out what had happened to her after Tarsonis fell to the Zerg. Her thoughts traveled further to the people she met in the Gutter, who were all dead by now, either killed by the Zerg or the bombardment of the Protoss and also to Mal, who had spent six months trying to find Nova and who had been sent on a suicide mission by Emperor Mengsk before he had completely healed from his injuries. Lastly her thoughts went to her teammates and friends she made in the Academy: to Tosh, who had been her team leader and criticized her for her lack of teamwork, to Kath, who always said what was on her mind, to Lio, the hab-addicted techno-path, and to Collin, who had the unique ability of astral projection. Nova let out a sigh, she would miss them all...

_No, not really. Because, after today, November Annabella Terra will be dead and in her place will be Ghost no. 12-862, code-name Nova, a loyal servant to the Dominion._

The medical staff slowly started filling in the room and Nova said to no one in particular and to everyone she knew at the same time the last words of her old self before darkness enveloped her and she would awaken to her new self.

"Goodbye..."


	2. Chapter 1: Advancing and Landing

_Okay, this is the first chapter of my story. I just wanted to say that I won't be able to upload very fast or often since I've got a lot of work to do. So, I hope you enjoy and I'll try to make the next chapters long as well but I can't promise._

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own StarCraft or StarCraft: Ghost, otherwise I wouldn't have stopped it's production.

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**_Four years after the BroodWar shook the Koprulu Sector Emperor Arcturus Mengsk I. has rebuilt his Terran Dominion and is preparing for the upcoming war against the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan. For this case the Dominion is developing new weapons and technology. It is also two years after Agent 12-862 graduated from Ghost Academy._**

-Chapter 1: Advancing and Landing-

Arcturus Mengsk sat behind a large mahagoni desk. In front of him was an open file containing the information about the mission for the person wearing skin-tight white body-suit with several cables and attachments on it in front of him.

"I want you to act mainly as an back-up force with the Black-ops team and Delta- and Epsilon-Squadron on this mission. You are to support Captain Bock in any way possible and get him out of any kind of mess he is most likely going to get himself in."

At this a knowing smirk appeared on the face of the Emperor.

"And as far as I know him that is going to happen faster then I'm comfortable with so I advice you to get ready as soon as possible and head out to Mar Sara."

The emperor handed the silent figure the file.

"These are additional mission objectives which you will carry out as soon as the Refinery has been secured. I can count on you for keeping this information top-secret, right?"

The figure nodded once in agreement while taking the file and then left the leader of the Terran Dominion without a word alone in his bureau. Arcturus Mengsk rose from his chair behind the desk and, taking another file from the heavy desk, turned around to gaze out of the giant window upon the rebuilding city on the center of the Dominion, Korhal IV.

A loud knocking was soon after heard from the large wooden door on the opposite side of Arcturus' office. It was not loud enough to appear intriguing but clearly showed that the person knocking was used to giving orders and had a lot of self-confidence.

"Come on in, General Warfield," Arcturus said with a small smile on his lips. The door was opened and the person standing on the other side slowly took a step into the room.

"I still don't get how you always know it's me, Mr. Emperor," General Warfield said a bit annoyed. At this the Emperor let out a small chuckle and turned around to his visitor.

"Didn't you know that I was a psychic myself, Horace?" he said with a grin.

"Speaking of psychics," Horace Warfield cut in, " was it really a wise decision to sent..."

However, he was cut short when the Emperor's grin faded and he interrupted with a darker voice: "I haven't changed my mind about that matter, Horace, and I am aware of the risks. But with the situation as critical as it is I am willing to take them. After all, where would I be if I hadn't taken any risks?" He paused and then continued: "If that is all, General Warfield, then I advice that you leave now since the Dominion doesn't run itself after all." With that said he dropped the folder onto his desk and walked past the General out of the room. Almost unbeknownst to the General the Emperors personal ghost followed him on his heels. Horace Warfield took a quick glance at the folder which had "Project: Shadow Blade" imprinted on the top and then followed after the mightiest human in the Koprulu Sector.

_Koprulu Sector_

_Mar Sara_

_73 hours after the infection of a Vespene Refinery 1138 through the Zerg._

It was a magnificent view: hundreds of marines, firebats and Goliath-walkers were marching through the Mar Sara wastelands toward the infected Vespene Refinery. Captain Bock stood in the middle of his soldiers and with a flick of his hand he opened his visor. A satisfied grin was plastered on his face as he watched the last dropships leave the planets surface.

"Lieutenant Haggs! Status report!"

The marine approached his captain and answered: "No signs of the Zerg, sir. Maybe they retreated."

The captain let out a grunt: "Maybe? There are no 'maybes' here, Lieutenant! They turned their spiny tails and ran away before the first dropships even set down."

He continued walking toward the refinery: "I want all of the men assembled and ready to move up to the refinery. We're gonna take that objective and go home!" At the last words he slammed his fist into his palm, all the while the lieutenant was following him.

"Um... but, sir, shouldn't we... sent out a scout team to..." Lieutenant Haggs wasn't able to finish his sentence as Captain Bock turned around and gave him a death glare. Instead he saluted half-halfheartedly and said: "Yes, sir."

Captain Bock watched his lieutenant walk off then he turned to the refinery on top of the hill, visible in the distance, and muttered to himself: "Hell... my grandma's sewing circle coulda handled this mission."

Above the clouds of Mar Sara's atmosphere three Terran dropships made their way toward the planets surface. Inside one of them a small squad of marines were buckled in their seats. Soft country music filled the cabin and the marines were chatting with each other.

"So, anybody know the ex-sol down there?" One of the marines asked into the round. The others simply looked at each other until one of them spoke up: "Captain Bock... He's an idiot." This caused some quite laughter throughout the cabin and the soldiers agreeing with him. One of the marines lent over to his sergeant and asked:

"Hey sarge. What's with the ghost?"

They both looked over to the end of the cabin farthest away from the entrance ramp where in the shadows a sitting figure was visible due to the pulsing, blue energy running through the attachments of it's body-suit.

"You got me", answered the sergeant his soldier who responded:

"Don't say much." The sergeant replied with a grin: "They never do."

An idea was forming in the soldiers head. _Let's see if I can make a bit of fun of him or at least get him to say something._

"Hey", he whispered to his sergeant, "check this out."

He lent forward and shouted over to the lone figure:

"Hey, tough guy! What's with the loner crap?" After a little pause he added: "Why don't you come back here and sit with the real men?" _Now how are you going to react?_

The figure which had been sitting still with its legs crossed uncrossed them and slowly bent over so that its head was in the light. The other marines now had a clear view of the blond hair and the piercing green eyes of the woman who sat at the end of the cabin.

Most of the marines weren't able to stifle their laughter while the marine who had taunted the ghost cringed. "Uhh... " _Shit, that's a woman!_ After one last glance into the round the female ghost sat back into the shadows to leave the marines alone to their mockering of their comrade. "Real smooth, Loster." One commented. "Shut up", came the grumpy reply.

_Mar Sara surface_

Captain Bock was walking through his ranks of marines when Lieutenant Haggs came running up to him. "Captain Bock! I got word from HQ that three dropships are en route with reinforcements. ETA is in..." Here he was cut off by Captain Bock.

"Reinforcements?"

"Yes sir. Two squads and a black-ops unit."

"Black-ops? Pegs! All we need here is: blood, sweat and the fire-power of my Terran Marine Corp." By now they had advanced further through the rows of marines.

"Shall I call HQ to cancel..."

"HELL, YES Lieutenant!!! I've got this... operation..." Captain Bock was looking around.

"You hear that?"

"What?"

"Who called in siege tanks?!?" Bock was starting to get irritated by the trembling of the ground and the rumbling in the air.

"I want to know who called siege tanks onto MY battle-field lieutenant!" He was shouting now.

Lieutenant Haggs answered calmly while the other marines continued to advance:

"We ain't got no battle-tanks here, sir."

A look of complete shock on his face Captain Bock gazed to the Vespene Refinery and whispered when the trembling had gotten so strong that the other marines, firebats and goliath-walkers noticed: "Mother mercy..."

The marines were starting to get nervous until one of them readied his C-14 Impaler and shouted into the suit come-link: "ZERG!!!"

Captain Bock was only able to whisper: "Pull back..."

Then louder: "Pull back!"

Until he shouted:"PULL BACK!!!"

The marines started shouting orders at each other for retreat when on the nearby hills coming from the refinery hordes of zerglings and hydralisks swarmed towards them.

The marines closest to the advancing forces wasted no time and opened fire from their gauss guns but they failed to notice the Zerg who dug themselves out of the ground between them. By now most squads started firing as more and more Zerglings emerged from the ground. However, the sheer number of foes forced the marines to pull back but the Zerglings were much faster and started tearing the stranglers to shreds. Two marines who were covering each other were pushed aside by a firebat who immeadetly started torching the incoming Zerglings with his plasma fire. He was rather successful until one of them managed to latch itself onto his arm which caught his attention long enough for him to be covered by a blanket of Zerg bodies.

Elsewhere marines were gathering in order to take down the Ultralisk who had joined the battle. They were shouting at each other to take it to which it responded by smashing all the marines around it away with its two blade-like arms.

In the center of the original army Captain Bock was encouraging his men to held their grounds while he shot several Zerglings with his P1000. He turned to Lieutenant Haggs and shouted:

"I want those reinforcements! And I want them NOW! **NOW!!!**"

_In the skies_

The three dropships were passing through the clouds at full speed while their pilots spoke to each other:

"So, Captain Bock called in the cavalry."

"Now that's a first."

"He didn't even say 'please'."

"This is serious boys! This sounds hard and their getting their asses full there."

"Keep your eyes peeled. It's waaay to quiet up here..."

The dropships passed through some heavy storm clouds and inside of them two Mutalisks appeared and followed them.

"We've got company!"

"Hostiles on our six."

"Pull the pedal to the metal!"

While they continued their descend the Mutalisks started spitting out their acid spore-parasites, trying to shoot them down.

"Taking fire!"

The dropships started evasion maneuvres until one parasite latched onto the thrusters of one dropship and started melting the hull away until it reached the core engine and the thruster erupted in flames.

"I'm HIT!!!" And he lost control. "Aaaiiiiiieeeeeeuuuuuurgh!!!!"

The dropship spun around uncontrollable and threated to crash into its comrades.

"Pull up!" However, it came to late and the two dropships collided with each other causing them both to explode. The last one barely made it out of the explosion radius.

Inside the green standby lights turned to red alert when the ship was shuck by the shockwave and the music ceased. The marines looked around confused before closing their visors in order to activate the internal oxygen tanks and make their CMC Power-Suits combat ready. The voice of the pilot crackled through the speakers:

"Twomanner and Lightbringer are down and I've got bugs everywhere. We're not gonna make it to the LZ so I'm gonna bring us in as close as possible.... Hold on tight, boys and girls, we're going in... Hard and fast!" At these words the female ghost started checking her equipment, especially her C-10 Canisterrifle. While the dropship approached the surface the marines checked that their Power-Suits were running at full energy. All of them were pressed into their seats when the pilot decreased their speed and set down on the planet.

"I'll land here but I won't stick around for very long, so don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out." At this the marines buckled out and the sergeant shouted:

"Let's roll!" He then looked over to the only female in the squad who just re-inserted her munition clip into her rifle. She looked up and nodded once before the marines set foot on Mar Sara's charred soil.


	3. Chapter 2: Counterattack

**Disclaimer:** I own StarCraft and everythi... (notices drooling Hydralisk accompanying the Blizzard Entertainment lawyer) I mean I don't own StarCraft or StarCraft: Ghost. All units mentioned belong to BE. I just provide the story.

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-Chapter 2: Counterattack-

As soon as the last member of the black-ops squad set foot on the burnt ground of Mar Sara the dropship took off before the ramp was completely pulled in and flew back to HQ.

"All right men", the sergeant shouted, "Captain Bock is in a tight fit and we are going to drag his butt away from those damn Zerg... And preferably while it's still attached to the rest of his body!" He glanced at the faces of the nine marines in front of him who were trying not to show their grins and the Captain's failed assault. The sergeant continued:

"Once we've secured the Captain we'll regroup with what remains of his forces and see if it is still possible to fulfill this objective." He turned around to the only person aside of him who wasn't in line: the female ghost stood behind him... a position he did **not** want her to stand in but it really didn't matter were she stood since her presence alone gave him the chills.

"And for you..."

"I already have my own objectives which I will carry out once we have regrouped with Captain Bock", the female ghost interrupted the sergeant and surprising all of them by speaking.

"Additionally I do not take orders from you, Sergeant Milton, although I will aid you in helping the captain out." She turned around and headed in the direction in which the high energy ray being emitted from the refinery was visible in the air. The ray had appeared after the original refinery blew up during infection and had remained visible since then. No one knew what it was which was another reason for them to secure the Refinery. As the ghost walked on Sergeant Milton regained his composure and called after her:

"Hey! Hold on a sec!" Ignoring him she continued on her path so the Sergeant let out a sigh and ordered his men to head out.

Continuing through the canyon the dropship had set them down Nova headed toward the Refinery and the massacre of Dominion Marines which awaited her. She had closed her mind of from the world around her to prevent gaining unwanted attention. This also prevented her from reading minds but the minds of the Zerg wasn't something she wanted to teep into anyway. She had to climb a steep hill and atop was granted a macabre view: Dominion marines were fighting the hardest they could but were clearly outnumbered by the sheer masses of Zerg branding against them. Nova remembered the Mutalisks who had shot down two of the dropships and with a mere thought the cloaking device which was inseparable attached to her white body-suit was activated, concealing any traces of her and thus making her invisible to most senses and sensors. She sprinted down a small sloop and arrived in the middle of hell.

The air was filled with bullets, needles, blood, guts and the screams of those wounded or dying; alien and human alike. In front of Nova a Goliath-Walker was brought down after a well placed burst of acid needles from a Hydralisk had penetrated the cockpit of the mecha and buried themselves into the face and torso of the pilot. Said Hydralisk was then mowed down by the combined fire of two Marines, cutting it into shreds. Luckily for them the Zergling which had leaped into the air behind them was fried by a concentrated burst of flame from the firebat who gave his comrades close up cover. But not all were so lucky: just a few feet away a lone marine got his left arm ripped off by two Zerglings and then was impaled by the razor-sharp arms of the Hydralisk appearing behind him. It didn't take a genius to realize who had the upper hand in this battle.

_But... that's what I'm here for. To change the tides of this skirmish. _Nova dashed past the trio of lucky marines further into the heart of the battle. In the distance the roar of the Ultralisk reaping through the marines was audible over the whole battlefield. That was her target: she would take it down and then aid where she would be needed most before breaking through and heading towards the Refinery. After all, the Dominion had more marines which could fill in for those who fell today... the mission had top priority for Nova. If it weren't part of her objective she couldn't care less for the marines. It was their own fault for falling for such an obvious trap.

"Captain Bock!" Named captain turned around to his lieutenant after disposing of another Zergling which had managed to pass the defensive ring the marines had positioned themselves into.

"Where are those reinforcements Lieutenant?!?" Captain Bock was shouting over the noise of the Impalers fired beside him.

"Sir, I was just notified that two of the dropships were shot down and the black-ops unit was dropped of about a click away from their original LZ. They should arrive in the next few minutes."

"Only the black-ops made it? Hell, how many units are part of that squad?"

"Ten marines and also a..."

"Ten marines!!! Look around you Lieutenant! We're being crushed! Contact HQ and tell them to sent in some heavy air support. I want these critters..." Whatever he wanted to say was drowned by the screams of pain coming from the marines who had flanked him as the Ultralisk squished them beneath his feet. Captain Bock looked up in complete horror into the open, lip-less mouth of the Ultralisk. It took a full swing with its scythes at an angle which would chop off Captain Bock's head. The scythes stopped only inches away from him and when he looked up he could see the Ultralisk struggling against some kind of force. And then to Captain Bock's and Lieutenant Haggs' utter amazement the Ultralisk was lifted a few inches of the ground before it was flung into the mass of Zerglings and Hydralisks behind it, landing on them and turning the majority of them into an organic puddle.

"What in the name of damnation...?" Captain Bock started but stopped when the air in front of him flickered and a panting woman with blond hair dressed in a white body-suit which covered every bit of her body except the head stood with her back toward him, facing the Ultralisk which managed to get back on its feet.

Nova was panting heavily. Lifting a several ton heavy Ultralisk of the ground and tossing him away was not something easy, even with her telekinetic powers. But she didn't have time to recuperate since the furious Ultralisk was preparing to attack her now. She calmly raised her Canister-Rifle at one of its eyes and fired. The howls of pain were reflected by the canyon walls but Nova didn't let herself get distracted. Instead she quickly bent down and snatched two grenades from one of the marine corpses lying next to her and removing the pin flung the first against the head of the Ultralisk. The roaring of the beasts pain increased as the detonation robbed it of its remaining eyesight. Nova, however, didn't even waste a second and darted towards her opponent who was slashing wildly around, cutting the Hydralisks around him in half. Knowing that she didn't have much time before the Ultralisks regeneration would grant it its eyesight again she ducked under its flailing arms and slithered underneath its belly. She then threw the second grenade into the air and pushed it with her telekinesis into the open mouth of the beast. Hastily getting up and dashing away from it she turned around in time for the grenade to blow up inside of the Ultralisk. The explosion tore the whole belly of the beast open and turned its thick chitin-armor into deadly shrapnels which cut through the Zerg around it. Nova blocked the few pieces which flew in her direction with her powers and turned toward the direction of the Refinery. Taking a quick, deep breath she activated her cloaking and set off again.

Captain Bock stared together with Lieutenant Haggs at the Ultralisk which had been blown to pieces. And they were not the only ones: Every marine on their side was staring at the smoking remains of the creature, its shrapnel turned carapace had decimated the enemy forces at this battle side enough to grant the humans a breather.

"Captain...", Lieutenant Haggs spoke up, "that woman... is she a... ghost?"

"Sure as hell she is." Captain Bock grumbled. He then turned towards his lieutenant.

"What are you still doing here goofing off, Haggs! We're about to die and I gave you orders to call in for REINFORCEMENTS, didn't I?!!!" Lieutenant Haggs snapped up and responded by quickly running to the communication equipment in the center of the defensive circle while Captain Bock encouraged his marines to open fire on the "spiny critters" before they killed all of them.

Sergeant Milton just arrived at the top of the cliff to see the Ultralisk getting blown to pieces by that ghost. _I have to admit, not bad._ He quickly pulled himself together and shouted over the gunfire echoing in the valley below them:

"Alright, Corporal Sean, Private Smith and Decks get your shields in position! We're going to go down there to aid our comrades. You'll go first while we provide back-up fire for those pesky Zerglings. The Hydralisks won't be much trouble thanks to these new shields. Now MOVE IT!!!" With that said the named marines brought their shields up in front of them and headed down the cliff, closely followed by their comrades who shot at anything that came from the flanks or behind while they opened fire on everything in front of them. Their shields were the newest of the Dominions toys: heavy tower shields which were able to resist even the acid needles fired off of the backs of the Hydralisks and thus gave invaluable cover against enemy long-range fire. They were headed towards the main body of the human defenders to meet up with Captain Bock and, hopefully, repel the enemy forces.

Avoiding large clusters of Zerg to prevent detection Nova dashed around the battlefield sniping Hydralisks and Zerglings who tried to sneak up on unsuspecting marines. Somewhere along the way she had snatched a gauss rifle from a dead marine and used it to reap through the masses of Zerg in order to save ammunition for her Canister-Rifle.

"Help! Oh god! Help me!!!" Nova turned around to see a firebat being knocked to the ground and Zerglings and Hydralisks slowly peeling his armor open. _So the reports are true. They really do learn from their mistakes..._ Nova raised her Impaler and took carefully aim before she led loose a burst of projectiles. They didn't hit the Hydralisks or the Zerglings attacking the firebat but instead dug into the tanks on his back. As soon as the first pierced through the tank and oxygen came into contact with the liquified plasma an explosion turned everything within a 10-meter radius around the firebat into a fireball. When it dissipated the firebat and the Zerg attacking him were turned into smoldering ash and the shockwave served to knock additional Zerglings further away into the walls of the valley. Although they were now holding their ground better the Zerg still had the advantage of numbers and it was only a matter of time before they would overrun the humans. A high-pitched scream of pain erupted not far from Novas current position and she turned around in time to see a marine turning into an indefinable puddle of molten metal and organic matter. His partner was then swept up when a Mutalisk dove down and picked him up. Nova glanced around and for a moment she thought her heart had stopped: several Mutalisks were joining into the battle but what was most important were the crab-like looking creatures slowly floating towards them, spitting balls of pure acid at the humans on the ground. With the arrival of the guardians the situation had just turned from worse into catastrophe.

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_AN: Well, hope you didn't see that one coming but counterattack can be used on both sides, right? Please stay tuned for the next chapter and review so I know what I have to improve on. Thank you!_


	4. Chapter 3: Brake Through

_Okay, the new chapter came sooner than expected. Don't get used to it! I will continue to update unregularly._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own StarCraft, StarCraft: Ghost, StarCraft II or any other product which is owned by Blizzard Entertainment.

-Chapter 3: Brake Through-

Nova's mouth went dry. Guardians were the nightmare of every infantry. They were slow but their range was terrific and their balls of acid could melt through the light armor the Dominion's marines wore in a matter of seconds. Nova gritted her teeth and consulted the computer built into her suit about the time left she could stay cloaked before she had to draw back and let the device recharge. Through her ear-piece the computer told her that the cloaking device could only transform her psionic powers into a cloaking field for another 30 seconds. She didn't waste anytime and started running through the Zerg towards the Refinery. With a single thought she channeled her mental powers into the synthetic muscle fibers woven into her suit. Although this would drain her even faster it allowed her to move four times her normal running speed. In less than ten seconds she had crossed through the valley and stood at the foot of the hill on which the Vespene Refinery was clearly visible. More and more Zerg were pouring down the sides and into the valley. Nova deactivated her cloaking since the Zerg were focused on the ring of marines who were desperately trying to hold their ground. She checked the ammunition she had left for her C-10 and the Impaler she had taken. Positive she could manage alone for a while she slung her Rifle onto her back and took the Impaler into both hands. She then closed her eyes and, taking a deep breath, used her telekinesis to lift herself into the air and on top of the hill in front of the remains of the Refinery. The concentration this act took together with the drainage from before sent Nova to the ground. Sweat poured down her face and her breathing was fast and heavy.

Sergeant Milton encouraged his men to press onward. They had gained valuable ground on their way towards Captain Bock's position and Sergeant Milton was truly believing they could make it to him without losing a man. Part of their success was due to the surprise their arrival had caused and partly because they were prepared for what awaited them, unlike Captain Bock...

The shouts and screams reached them shortly after they had cut a passage to the first members of Bock's marines.

"Sarge, look! There are Mutalisks and Guardians attacking Captain Bock's army!" Loster shouted through the suits comm-link. Sergeant Milton looked into the sky and knew immediately that staying any longer with these few men was suicide.

"Listen up, men! We'll break through to the captain and then leave this butcher place, ASAP!!!" He shouted over the firing of his own Impaler. Without further command the squad rushed forward to aid their comrades and their idiotic captain.

The arrival of the Mutalisks and the Guardians didn't go unnoticed by Captain Bock. The fact that his marines stood no chance was noticed as well.

"Haggs! I want the status of the aerial back-up I ordered!" He yelled while firing his P1000 into the mass of Zerg bodies between him and his objective.

"Sir!" Captain Bock turned around to the marine approaching him.

"What is it, soldier?"

"Sir, Sergeant Milton and his black-ops unit has cut their way through to us! They are currently trying to keep it open with the help of some of our men."

"That's good news!" _Seems that those pegs have their use after all. _Now that he looked he could see the path cutten through the swarm of Zerg at the other side of the valley.

"Right, inform Lieutenant Haggs that we're pulling back."

"Sir...", the marine hesitated before continuing, "Lieutenant Haggs is dead, sir. He was picked up by a Mutalisk and flung into the swarm." Captain Bock hesitated at this revelation but only for a second before shouting into the built in comm-link:

"Attention, all men! We're retreating, NOW!!!"

Upon hearing their captain's order the marines farthest away from the escape path started pulling back while receiving fire cover from their comrades closer to the new target. Sergeant Milton smiled behind his visor.

"Seems that Bock has for once given an intelligent order, right Corporal?"

"Seems so, sarge."

"Alright boys! Give cover for the others, we're pulling back!" He shouted while retreating as well. The Zerg, having lost their opponents, were dumbstruck for a moment before chasing after the retreating humans.

"Loster, call in HQ to order some transporters with air support. We're aborting main mission" The sergeant ordered while covering for the fleeing marines. Although they were concentrating their fire several fleeing marines were caught and killed by the Zerg who had given chase. A marine approached the sergeant and from the number of stars on his shoulders it wasn't hard to guess that this was the 'famous' Captain Bock.

"You there! Are you in charge of this squad?"

"Sir, yes, sir. I'm Sergeant Milton, black-ops unit, sir." Milton couldn't stand the Captain from the first moment. The way he walked and talked made him dislike the captain from the first moment.

"Good job in creating this path, sergeant." Captain Bock stopped for a second and then continued: "And congratulation on your promotion, lieutenant. Now get a move on and outta here!" Sergeant Milton was stunned for a moment before replying:

"Yes, sir. Come on, boys, let's move it." With that the marines retreated back up the cliff they had just descended down a few minutes ago.

Nova pushed herself off of the ground and groaned because of the throbbing of her head. She couldn't say how long she had spent on the ground just trying to catch her breath but it couldn't have been too long otherwise she'd be dead. Glancing back she saw that Captain Bock's marines made a full retreat out of the valley. This would prove to become problematic unless they had ordered back-up and were just regrouping and even then it would leave her with a high probability of getting killed. _I just have to finish what I was sent here for before that happens. Everything else is irrelevant. _Nova turned towards the Refinery and called up the map of the compound from her computer. Pulling her goggles over her eyes the map was projected onto the lenses and she entered the wrecked building. _I have to seal area 4 and 6 then my mission is finished and I'll have to hold out until the Dominion sends in heavy weapons to reclaim the Refinery. _She followed the map towards were the main control room was located in order to seal the areas off. Upon arriving she knew she could have saved herself the trouble since the whole room was wrecked: every computer terminal was busted and the floor was covered with glass shards and pieces of equipment and personnel. She turned around and walked out of the door when a cracking sound let her spin around just in time to shoot the airborne Zergling with a full salve of her Impaler. The bloody remnants of the Zerg landed with a sickening slush on the ground in front of Nova. Without looking back once she left and instead headed towards area 4 in order to seal it manually.

Captain Bock and Lieutenant Milton were leading their troops through the canyon in which the black-ops team had originally landed. Loster had informed them that they would be met there.

"Sirs, HQ just called in and said that ETA is 5 minutes now. We're supposed to wait here and hold out until then."

"Thank you, Loster" Lieutenant Milton said. He glanced toward Captain Bock but he was just staring down the path they had passed through. Sighing Milton turned around and spoke into the comm-link:

"Listen up, men! ETA for our ride out of here is 5 minutes. We're going to stay here and pound every critter which dares to come down this path back to the holes they crawled out of." A loud cheering echoed from the walls and the marines formed a half-circle facing the direction they had come from and blocking the whole width of the canyon. The first row consisted mostly of firebats with marines giving them cover from the Hydralisks while the second row consisted purely out of marines. Not even a minute had past before the walls were shaking and the echoes of claws scratching over rock could be heard. Milton noticed that several marines had like him tightened their grip on their weapons. The first Zerglings rounded the corner and were immediately faced by a wall of projectiles as the marines wasted no time opening fire. The Zerglings were torn into shreds but more came and although they didn't last long either their bodies gave cover for the ones behind them and so they were 'slowly' advancing toward the humans. The firebats, like the marines, wasted no time in attacking as soon as the Zerg got within the range of their flamethrowers. Soon the area in front of the marines was covered in a blanket of Zerg bodies over which the advancing ones had to climb, slowing them down tremendously and thus giving the marines more time to mow them down. _Maybe we can really make it._ Milton thought to himself but was soon brought back to the situation at hand when the fire of the marines was decreasing. _That's strange, we didn't lose anybody so why...? _It hit him like the club and he shouted:

"Everyone who's run out of ammunition, switch with the second row and reload!" The marines quickly complied, breaking formation in order to switch with the second row. During this time the Zerg had gotten closer and Hydralisks were already taking out the firebats who were busy torching Zerglings who got too close with their needles. Formation was breaking up but when second row had replaced the members of the first the Zerg were driven back and forced to take cover. They retreated round the corner and the humans didn't waste this opportunity and attended to the wounded. While they were busy bringing the wounded to the back the sound of flapping wings filled the air and the Mutalisks were advancing onto the defending humans.

"Get back into formation and take those flying menaces out!" Milton shouted. The marines got back into formation and started firing on the Mutalisks. Glancing forward Milton saw that the Zerg who had previously taken cover where now advancing over the bodies of their fallen toward them. _Shit, we can't fire on the Mutalisks __**and**__ the ground troops... and once the Guardians arrive we're history._

"Everyone, fire at own will! We have to hold out until the dropships arrive!!!" The marines diverted their fire towards the enemy they deemed most dangerous at the moment. Suddenly the air was filled with the humming of engines and when Milton looked up he could see strange fighters fire missile volley after volley into the Mutalisks turning them into pieces of flesh and blood. Four of the fighters descended and once above the Zerg underwent a transformation: the wings were retracted together with the thrusters and two legs were extracted and the fighters landed on top of the Zerg with a loud thud. Without wasting their breath the goliath-walkers resembling machines opened fire on the Zerg out of two gatling guns attached at their sides, forcing the Zerg to retreat for a second time. The walkers however gave immediate chase. Milton wanted to warn them but the approaching sound of dropships made him turn. Several dropships were landing in the canyon but instead of letting the tired and demotivated marines in marines, firebats, siege-tanks and, to Milton's amazement, reapers were unloaded.

"Captain Bock?" Both Milton and Bock turned toward the marine who approached them from one of the dropships.

"Yes?"

"You are hereby replaced as captain of this operation. From now on I will be giving orders and we're going to complete this mission."


	5. Chapter 4: Victory

_After some time I present to you chapter 4 of my story. I want to thank Shadowave for being such a loyal reader and reviewing. I had a little depression about writing this but you cheered me up. Thanks alot. Now, on with the story!_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own StarCraft or any related products. This is a work of my own mind.

* * *

-Chapter 4: Victory-

"Are you nuts!?!"

Lieutenant Milton needed a second to realize that Captain Bock had spoken what had been on his mind. _Strange hearing that from __**him**__._

"No, I am completely sane, Bock. Besides, even if I wasn't you are no longer in the position to argue against my orders. But since you're fatigued I'll repeat my orders for you: You and your men are to join with my troops and will aid us in the recapturing of Refinery 1138."

Bock looked as if he was going to blow his top and Milton stepped in between the two glaring men.

"By all respect, sir, but I have to agree with the Captain: We are no match for the Zerg even with the reinforcements you have provided us with."

"And who might you be?"

"Sergeant Milton, black-ops unit, sir!" Milton said while saluting. Since his questionable promotion hadn't been acknowledged yet he wanted to stick with his former title.

"Ah, black-ops. Yes, I can understand why you're not comfortable with this approach since you specialize in surprise attacks and hit-and-run tactics. Don't worry. We've received the reports of the attack and from our little demonstration earlier you should realize that we're prepared for most of what the enemy can throw at us. Have more faith in the Nova-Squadron." Milton stared at the marine. _Nova-Squadron? Then... this is Colonel Jackson Hauler!_ He glanced around at the new-comers and then at his own men. Determination was written on all of their faces and Milton led out a small sigh before returning his gaze to the leader of Nova-Squadron. He saluted and said:

"It'd be a honor for me and my team to work with you, sir!"

"This is crazy! We'll all die!" Bock shouted at the two men. Colonel Hauler raised an eyebrow at this outburst and calmly replied:

"Well, you could wait here for..."

"And miss the chance to witness how the Zerg tear you to shreds? No, I won't back off now!" With that Bock turned to his men and shouted:

"Listen up, boys!! We've been ordered to assist these crazy idiots in their operation to wipe out those Zerg in the canyon. Anyone too scared to join can lurk into the next hole and stay there!!!" Milton had to admit that although Captain Bock was an idiot he knew how to keep his men motivated and battle-hungry. Not a single one standing backed out. Normally this would have raised Milton's respect for the man but that he had swallowed the bait the Colonel had thrown at him with lead and sinker and still not realizing it worked against him._ I still wonder how that guy ever got the captaincy over a whole marine corp... seems like such a waste._ While Milton was in thoughts Colonel Hauler stepped for with a satisfied grin and spoke into his comm-link:

"I thank you all for your loyalty towards the Terran Dominion. I am Colonel Jackson Hauler, leader of Nova-Squadron. Now those pesky Zerg will pay for their mockery against us and the Dominion! They will pay for their overconfidence in believing they could snatch which belongs to us and get away with it! And they will pay for all those who they killed today!!!" The cheering of the assembled humans was deafening and echoed down the canyon. It subsided as Colonel Hauler ordered them to march out and meet the enemy. The reapers, being as fast as they were, took the lead followed by the marines and firebats. Behind them were a group of medics together with Milton, Bock and Colonel Hauler. The siege-tanks, Milton didn't know what type they were since their development was so fast that the newest model was outdated in a matter of weeks,made up the back. While they hurried through the canyon over the corpses of the Zerg Milton glanced up to see a full squad of banshees, planetary air-ground fighters, passing over them and before reaching the valley activated their cloaking generators and thus vanishing from his sight.

Once again Milton and his unit stood atop the valley and overlooked the massacre left by the Zerg... minus the Zerg, they were gone.

"Those critters... they're hiding themselves." Bock mumbled to himself.

"Say, Sergeant Milton" Colonel Hauler spoke up.

"Yes, sir?"

"From the Intel I received there was a female ghost in your unit, right?"

"That's correct, sir. However, she took off on her own and I lost sight of her in the midst of battle." Honestly, it didn't matter for Milton if she was still alive although he doubted it. Sure she had finished off that Ultralisk but there was no way she could have hold out on her own for so long.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Colonel Hauler started laughing.

"Yes, yes. That surely sounds like our little Nova! Always acting on her own unless otherwise told and then disappearing and appearing when you least expect it." Milton wrinkled his brows in thought. _Nova... sounds familiar..._

"Sir, what do you mean by _your_ No..."

"ATTENTION!!!" Hauler shouted over Milton's question.

"Reaper squad advance into the valley and draw those insects out of their holes! Tanks, I want you to give them cover with your siege-fire. Vikings, take off into the air and look out for air-borne enemies." The ground shook as the siege-tanks behind them placing their stabilizers into the ground in order to handle the recoil of their mighty shock-cannons. The mecha's which had been standing near the cliff changed back into their air form. Milton looked back to the front in time to see the reapers using their jets in order to jump down the cliff into the valley.

"All right, marines! Once the reapers have lured the Zerg out the tanks and banshees will let hell rain loose on them. Then we're going to join in the party and wipe these pests off of our world!" Milton instinctively tightened his grip on his Impaler when the reapers spread over the valley and drawing out the Zerg in order to take them out immediately. It didn't take long for the Zerg which had been around the refinery to start pouring down into the valley. The reapers retreated a bit and then stood completely still in a battle-line. The Zerg didn't care about their enemies behavior as they simple pushed on... until they were in firing range of the siege-tanks. Milton could feel the air and his teeth vibrate when the tanks fired their shock-cannons. The shots tore huge holes in the front of the Zerg and that seemed to make them realize that they had run into a trap. The more intelligent ones turned around and headed back while the less intelligent ones pushed forward. It was in that chaos that the banshees started to unleash their anti-ground missiles into the mass of Zerg on the sloops and ramps which they used to get in and out of the valley. Being cut off from their escape paths the Zerg in the valley had no choice but to hold their ground while the ones near the refinery had to get away from the ramps and wait.

"Okay, go GO **GO!!!**" Colonel Hauler shouted and Milton could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body as he joined in the battle-cry of the marines and they started rushing down the sloops themselves to bring hell upon the Zerg. _A lot will die... but __**hell**__ we're going to beat 'em!_

Nova was walking down a corridor of the Refinery which would lead her to area 4. She had run into no resistance aside from the one Zergling in the control room. That was one of the main reasons why she had reactivated her cloaking device: it was too easy and if it was too easy people tended to feel safe and let their guard down... said people then died pretty quick. Nova didn't want to die so she remained cloaked and walked slowly down the empty halls, the gauss rifle readied to shoot anything that moved in the darkness. The IR and light-enhancer in her goggles allowed her to see what was about ten meters in front of her. She stopped in front of a door which read "Area 4" in red letters. Nova let her mind travel beyond the door to search for any presences and found about three of them: at first she thought that humans had managed to hide in here because she could hear their thoughts. This made her realize that those people were not human... at least not anymore. _They've been infested..._ Nova pressed the switch which opened the door in order to see five people standing on the other side. They could almost pass as humans... if you ignored the additional insectoid head, the claws and tentacles... **then **they could pass as humans. Nova raised her Impaler and, backing off from the door, started firing at the first one. What made infected terrans so dangerous wasn't their intelligence or their physical power, instead it was the high-density Vespene-gas stored inside their bodies which allowed them to take out whole groups and squads of marines and even tanks by exploding. Now Nova used this ability against them: in the narrow door way the explosion of one of them would cause a chain reaction. And she was right. As soon as the shots of her Impaler pierced one of the gas sacs inside its body and it exploded taking its four companions with it. The shockwave blew out a large portion of the door and corridor and knocking Nova several meters down the hall she had came from.

Sunlight filled the dusty hallway while Nova tried to get back to her feet which was quite difficult with all the ringing in her ears. The explosion had destroyed the outer wall of the installation as well... and thus became visible for beings outside. When Nova realized this she jumped to her feet, nearly tumbling over again, and started sprinting down the dust-filled corridor into area 4. _I have to seal of the extraction and refiner chambers in this area before the Zerg find me! _Gritting her teeth she consulted her computer for the best route to her destinations.

The explosion in the Refinery didn't go unnoticed by his sharp senses. That five hive members died either. The large behemoth, also known as Overlord, slowly moved towards the Refinery. The airborne fighters of the humans proved powerful against the flying swarm members but most troubling were the cloaked fighters which bombarded the passages his minions used to descend into the valley. He could feel the frustration of his Hydralisks which wanted to pierce what attacked them but weren't able to... this wouldn't be a problem for much longer. Accompanying him were two Overseers and several Mutalisks. He ordered the Mutalisks to attack the anti-air units and the two Overseers to remain over the factory where their enhanced senses would discover those foolish humans who thought they could hide with their cloaking. And so was it: thanks to the Overseers sharing what they were able to detect with the other Zerg the Hydralisks started firing their acid needles into those strange aircrafts. Both the anti-air and anti-ground units were new to the Overlord, none of the swarm had ever witnessed such vehicles which meant the humans had developed new weaponry... a futile attempt to drive back the swarm. While the Overlord dropped the two Ultralisks which he had been carrying in his skin sacs the human fighters realized that the Zerg were able to detect them and started evasion maneuvers while concentrating their fire on the Hydralisks. The other fighters turned and headed toward the Overlord and the two Overseers only to be intercepted by the Mutalisks. Although the fighters were more powerful the Mutalisks had the advantage of numbers and thus were able to prevent them from reaching the Overseers and started a dog-fight. The Overlord looked in the direction of the Refinery when his Overseers told them that they had discovered a human moving inside the installation. That was disturbing, how had it managed to pass his minions and enter the Refinery? He was furious but was calmed down when the Queen assured him that she would take care of the lowly human together with some new creations of the _Queen of Blades_. Satisfied that the human stood no chance he turned around and watched the battle, passing orders he received from either the cerebrate or the _Queen of Blades_.

It was going smoothly: they had trapped the Zerg in between them and were slowly cutting through them. Colonel Hauler was in high spirits. _Bringing the vikings and banshees was a good move...now we only have to cut through here and join with Nova._ A beeping sound informed him that both leaders of his viking and banshee squad were contacting him.

"What is it?"

"Sir! The enemy has sent in reinforcements of two Ultralisks, an Overlord and two... things... I've never seen before."

_It just had to go **too** smooth. _"What's your status?"

"Sir, since the arrival of those flying eyeballs over the Refinery the Hydralisks have opened fire on us. We're busy avoiding their fire while taking them out... we can't take care of the Ultralisks heading for you at the moment. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, Leader White, just stay alive. Leader Red, take care of..."

"I'm sorry, sir, but we're trying. The enemy has brought in a group of Mutalisks and we can't get past them!"

Jackson Hauler looked up. He could see the vikings dancing with the Mutalisks while his visor showed him the vague movements of the banshees avoiding enemy fire. He could also see the two "eyeballs" over the Refinery. He had to admit it was a fitting description... Then he noticed the Ultralisks walking towards them. _Shit, shit, shit!_

"Leader Red, hurry up with those Mutalisks and take those eyeballs out!" He then switched the channel to the siege-tanks:

"Leader Green! Do you see those two Ultralisks? Take them out, while we're falling back."

"Sir, yes sir!" Came the immediate response. Once again switching channels he called out to his marines:

"Everyone, pull back! We have to get those two Ultralisks into firing range of our tanks!" The march of the marines halted for a moment before they started retreating. They were not fleeing but instead pulling back in closed lines firing on the Zerg who followed, except for the firebats and medics who ran past the line of their comrades into the direction of the tanks. Jackson was fighting over a decision: they could continue their organized retreat but would suffer severe losses since the Zerg moved faster or they could start running like hell in order to get the Zerg within firing range of the tanks which would also be accompanied with severe losses.

"Listen up, marines! I hereby authorize use of StimPacks!" He saw how several marines and all reapers injected the mixture of drugs and adrenaline. This would practically shut down any rational thinking but would give them the reflexes and accuracy needed to survive better against them.

The Overlord watched as the humans started falling back. Did they think he was stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice? He hadn't forgotten that tanks were positioned on the cliff. He ordered his minions to follow the humans for a bit but to pull back once they had crossed about half of the canyon. Another Overlord descended from the skies and dropped another Ultralisk and two Hunter-Killers. He noticed that the Ultralisk was one of the new breed: enhanced armor, longer legs and two additional kaiser-blades, the human didn't stand a chance. The disappearance of several of his minions in combination with one of his Ultralisks brought his focus back to the battle: huge craters dotted where the front line of his forces had been the ground and another burst of high energy projectiles blew up the second row together with the second Ultralisk. What had gone wrong? His minions weren't in firing range of the tanks yet...

So far their retreat had been less catastrophic than he had thought. They had only lost a few men and most of them were from the reaper squad who occasionally shot toward the enemy before retreating again. It came as a complete surprise for Colonel Hauler when the air vibrated and he was knocked on his back by an explosion in front of him. Knowing full well that lying on your back was a bad idea during battle he quickly jumped to his feet and faced... nothing. He needed a second to realize that the complete front-line of the Zerg had been turned into smoking craters.

"Colonel, Leader Green speaking. The enemy has entered our firing range and we're taking them out." Colonel Hauler could hear the smirk in the speakers voice. He was about to shout that that was impossible since they hadn't crossed half of the valley yet when a second round of the tanks shock-cannons turned the second row and Ultralisk into craters. Slowly he turned around and, surprised for the second time during several seconds, saw the tanks in siege-mode only about fifty meters behind them. The visual enhancement in his helmet showed him the path the tanks had left when they had driven down the cliff into the valley. Now he understood why Leader Green had sounded so satisfied: instead of waiting for the Zerg to come to them and risking them turning around beforehand he had ordered his squad into the valley and met the enemy head on. A move which had surprised the Colonel and the Zerg as well. A broad smile appeared on the Colonels face. _I love it when my men use their brains._

"Well done, Leader Green!" Switching to the universal channel he said:

"Okay, time to take them out! Let's ROLL!!!"

The Overlord saw the tanks after their second round of fire. But before he could order the swarm to retreat the humans pressed forward again with the tanks turning into their mobile form and aiding them. The whole situation had gotten out of hand. There were no troops in the near vacancy and the Hive Cluster was still in its early stages. He felt the last Mutalisk die and, turning, faced a volley of missiles directed towards him. Then his thoughts ceased.

Nova watched in front of the console in which she had entered the code saved in her computer the extraction and refinement chambers being sealed off. The message on the screen informed her that the sealing was completed and emergency signal Alpha-311 had been initialized. Nodding once in satisfaction she ordered the computer to display the map of the installation in order to look for the shortest passage to area 6. When she recorded her intended course in her own map she activated the surveillance cameras. She watched for a second and then decided to leave but stopped when a beeping sound informed her that the cameras had noticed an intruder. Turning toward the screen she saw a strange Ultralisk squeezing through the corridors accompanied by two Hydralisks which were bigger than their normal counterparts. Cursing she started dashing down the hallways not bothering to reactivate her cloaking for the moment since she wanted to reserve her energies: she had developed a major headache as sign for overusage of psionic powers. Keeping an eye on the map displayed on the lenses of her goggles she tried to avoid the Zerg which had appeared as small red dots on it while hers was blue. She readied her rifle when the three dots broke up and took different routes before vanishing from the map... the sensors in those areas where either destroyed or without power. Running for nearly a minute left her with a short breath but her headache had started weakening since she hadn't used any of her powers for a while. She was knocked onto the floor when she rounded a corner and judging from the sound something _organic_ had also been knocked down. Looking up she stared directly into the burning yellow eyes of the Hydralisk. Without wasting a single thought she grabbed it and threw it against the opposite wall. While it was still flying through the air she had already pulled the trigger of her gauss rifle and was shooting at it. Most of the shots either were deflected by its carapace or didn't enter deep into its flesh. Nevertheless Nova didn't release the trigger while keeping the Hydralisk in her sight of view. It screeched with pain and released a blast of needles from the shield on its back. Nova had to stop firing in order to roll out of the way of the projectiles but she immediately continued firing once she stopped. The Hydralisk continued towards her, releasing waves of needles at her now and then. After dodging another wave Nova felt a sharp pain in her side and looked up into the intelligent eyes of the Hydralisk which had plunged one of its arms into her side and was now raising its other arm in order to stab her. Drool was dripping out of its mouth onto Nova and she simply pulled the trigger and bringing the Impaler up. At this distance the shots had a better effect on it digging deep into its flesh... before she ran out of ammo. Novas eyes grew wide and she could feel fear rising inside of her when the Hydralisks head rocked toward her face. Instinctively she brought her arms up in order to shield her face but the gnawing and biting as well as the pain she had thought would come didn't but she felt the Hydralisks heavy body falling on her and it's jaws on her arms. Moving her arms slowly to the side she once again stared into the beasts eyes but now they were empty, cold and... dead. Using her telekinesis she heaved the body up from her and tossed it to the side. The wound were it had stabbed her wasn't deep and lethal... at least now but it was painful. She got up and while holding her bleeding side activated her cloaking and continued down the hall. She still had a mission to fulfill.

Sergeant Milton and Colonel Hauler were running towards the sloop which led to the Refinery together with their whole assault force. The remnants of the Zerg force were blown to oblivion by the combined fire-power of the marines, the tanks and the remaining banshees which joined in as soon as the vikings had blown the last "eyeball" into bits. It was during their clean-up of the last Zerg that Colonel Hauler received news from the viking squad that they had seen some Zerg entering the Refinery during their fight against the Mutalisks. This proved that he had been right in his assumption that Nova had already infiltrated the facility and although he knew that she was capable of taking care of herself he started preparing an infiltration squad which would aid and save her.

Sergeant Milton watched the Colonel organizing a rescue squad when someone approached them from the side. Milton had to fight his first impulse down to shout or shot the marine: the once blue armor was red from blood and sticking from Hydralisks acid needles were Zerg guts. There were several cuts in the arms and legs of the marines suit which led to the conclusion that not all of the blood was from the Zerg. And in order to complete Milton's first impression of an infected terran were the two scythe-like arms of a Hydralisk which the marine held in each hand as replacement for his Impaler which he had probably lost during battle. Milton felt like he knew the marine but couldn't place a finger on it...

"Colonel! I want to volunteer for the rescue party!"

"Oh, Bock... What the hell happened to you?!?" Milton could see Colonel Haulers eyebrows rise in surprise and disgust.

"Nothing important. Anyway that ghost is one of your gals, right? I owe her for saving my neck and I hate having debts."

"Yes, that's correct... but do you think you should go in your condition?"

"Who care's about condition! The others aren't in much better shape than me and the longer we wait the bigger the chance that your girl comes back in squares."

Colonel Hauler nodded once and then gave a short briefing to the now five men sized squad. Milton was fighting an inner war about if he should have respect for the retarded captain or complete disgust... the scale tipped toward respect paired with utter disgust (you don't have to like someone to respect him) when he imagined Bock grappling with a Hydralisk during which he rips the creatures arms out and cuts it to pieces. Imaginating it wasn't as hard as he had thought it would be.

"Hey sarge."

"What is it, Loster?"

"I'm just surprised... I didn't think he'd jump into the first row."

"Me neither, Loster, me neither."

* * *

_Okay, this chapter was long. I plan to finish the first arc of my story with the next chapter... that depends on how long its going to work out. Stay tuned and please, please!!! R&R!!!!!_


	6. Chapter : Reclamation

_AN: Good day fanfiction! I know I haven't updated in a long while (almost nine months) but I just couldn't find my inspiration to write what I wanted to. But as time continued and I found out how to view the hits on my story I forced my lazy butt in front of my computer and produced this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this and I hope I haven't lost too many readers. Special thanks to all those guys and gals who favourited and put this story in their alert lists._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own StarCraft, StarCraft Ghost and any characters from thoes merchandises. They belong to Blizzard Entertainment.

* * *

-Chapter 5: Reclamation-

Nova was hurrying through the corridors of Area 5 while clutching her bleeding side. She had left the Impaler with the dead Hunter-Killer and instead had her sniper rifle readied. It was unfortunate for her that the sensors in this area were damaged or malfunctioned so that she couldn't tell where her enemies' position were until she ran into them... which happened faster than she was comfortable with.

She had been running towards an intersection of the corridor when the sound of big and heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor. Thanks to years of training Nova's reflexes kicked in, making her stop before the intersection when a body as big as a tank crashed into one of the walls. Nova recognized the creature as an Ultralisk but it was unlike any she had seen before: instead of two arms with blades it had four and the flat head with the triangular, lipless mouth was replaced by a head resembling in shape a Hydralisks with a big horn on its forehead and a huge plate of armor springing out of its neck to cover its back. Additionally it's whole body appeared far more massive than the old Ultralisks. The beast roared and turned towards Nova who didn't spare a second and sprinted down the left corridor with the Ultralisk stomping after her. Although far more massive the Ultralisk's speed wasn't reduced by the narrow corridors and Nova was struggling with her bleeding side. _I have to get to more narrow corridors where it won't fit through!_ A quick glance at the image of the map prompted Nova to suddenly burst through a door on her right which led through a smaller maintenance corridor which would lead to the extraction chamber of Area 6. The whole corridor shook when the Ultralisk struck the doorway. Nova slowed down to a light jog in order to catch her breath when the screeching of ripping metal filled everything around her. Her head whipped around on its own and her eyes widened in shock as the Ultralisk _smashed_ through the doorway and came **charging** at her at a speed Nova hadn't believed possible for a beast this massive. It's four arms were spread and cutting through the corridor walls to allow the massive body to crumble them and it's head was lowered so the tip of the single horn was poised at a point slightly above Nova's own head. The first thought which sprung into her head was _Dodge!_, the second _Where to?_, and then the Ultralisk had reached her. Nova knew that that thing would either run her over or run her _through_ if she didn't do something so she jumped and clung to the horn. The Ultralisk at first didn't realize his prey had escaped but then started to shake his head furiously to get rid of the offending human and thrusting his blades back and forth, all for naught though. Nova clung with all her might at the horn and a quick glance forward made her shut her eyes in anticipated dread. The crash and boom nearly shook her off the horn but then the Ultralisk had already smashed through the vault door and was carried into a circular room with a hole in the ground. This caused the Zerg to come to a skidding stop which flung Nova from it's horn into the opposite wall. The impact drove all the air out of Nova's lungs and she had to will her eyes to open. When she managed she was blinded by an intense light which took her a moment to get accustomed to. After the glare was gone Nova saw a violet beam shone from the hole in the ground and traveled all the way up to the ceiling. The light was increased by clouds of gas which shone in the same light. Even through all of her conditioning her first impulse was to take a deep breath to replace the air which had been knocked out of her. Her eyes widened in shock when she started coughing and her mouth, windpipe and lungs were burning. But not only them: her skin and eyes were burning as well as one of the clouds drifted close by her. _Vespene-Gas... I'm in the extraction chamber!_ She knew that being exposed to Vespene-Gas unprotected was lethal over some time, especially in this concentration but she also realized that something was different about it: normal Vespene-Gas was green and didn't fluorescent in such a violet color. She wanted to hold her breath but her body was betraying her again when it continued to take deep breaths to get at least a bit oxygen into her burning lungs. Her head felt like it would split open and she could have sworn that her _brain_ was burning as well. Through her blurry vision she saw that the Ultralisk seemed to be struggling as well. With seemingly super-human effort she pushed herself off of the ground and sprinted toward the extraction shaft. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw that the vault door through which they had smashed had been replaced by the emergency blast door. But her gaze fixed on a point in front and above of her: the control room. If she could use her telekinesis on the controls she could open the second door and get out of here. The roaring of the Ultralisk who seemed to have spotted her reminded her fuzzy mind that she had to take care of it as well. The burning in and on her whole body and mind made it extremely difficult to think and the only thing she _could_ think of was that Vespene-Gas no matter in which form was highly inflammable. She plucked her last grenade from her belt and flung it into the shaft which extended god knew how deep into the bowels of this world. Without thinking she ran to the unharmed door.

The rescue-squad continued down the barren and broken corridors of the destroyed facility. Captain Bock who was walking in the front gripped the gauss rifle he had taken from Milton more tightly. They had already lost two men to surprise attacks from burrowed Zerglings and the Captain was starting to doubt the value of this mission but... the gal had saved him and his men and he would be damned if he didn't manage to bring her back out of here and if it was his last breath. So deeply in thoughts was he that he didn't hear the slithering sound filling the corridor and noticed the shouts of his companions too late. His head snapped up and his eyes were met with a fierce yellow and then all he could feel was pain shooting through his abdomen to his chest and left shoulder when the Hunter-Killer drew it's scythe-like arm through his armor. The symbols in his HUD informed him that he had various suit-breaches and the suit was already pumping StimPacks and analgesia into his blood-stream. He only felt through a haze as his body hit the floor and the deafening roar of the gauss rifle's of his companions and the screeches of the Zerg being pummeled with the projectiles. The gaze of the Captain was directed straight at the ceiling which stayed in focus for only a short time. Only belated did the pained scream of one of the marines reach his ears which seemed to be covered by wool.

The Hunter-Killer growled in victory and pain. These puny humans didn't stand a chance against it's strengthened carapace and acid needles. It pulled it's arm out of the marine which it had just impaled through the chest. Even with their armors humans were such fragile creatures, utterly pathetic. It's searching gaze rested on the last standing human who kept shooting at it's body. The projectiles were starting to irritate it and it could feel that the relentless assault of needle-shaped bullets at super-sonic speed were starting to chip away at it's carapace. It ducked and raised it's neck-shield and with the contracting of several muscles a dozen of acid covered needles were shot at incredible speed into the human's armor. It watched in glee as the needles impact rocked the body back and then smashed into the wall behind him. The body slumped down, blood pouring out of the holes where the needles had traveled through his body and struck the wall. It released another screech for it's victory and turned around to continue it's search for the final intruder.

First was the shock-wave which caused an earthquake. The whole complex and canyon were shaken through. Sergeant Milton had a lot of trouble staying on his feet and a quick glance around showed him that he wasn't the only one: all around him equipment and marines toppled to the ground while those who managed to stay on their feet were frantically looking for the source. Then came the light. It was so sudden that the helmets of those who were unlucky enough to stare at the refinery didn't have enough time to darken and even for Milton and Hauler who were both facing the other direction the sudden increase in brightness forced the visors to darken. Both men whirled around when a roaring so loud that the ground shook even more and marines and equipment were sent to the ground again. Where the column of light had been not a few seconds ago, a raging pillar of green, purple and orange flames stretched seemingly endless into the sky. The monstrosity of a fire existed for only a dozen seconds before it started crumbling in itself and then extinguished. Milton could feel through his suit the raging winds which brought oxygen and air to where the flames had consumed everything. But it was far from over: after the column of fire had collapsed the ground shook once more and all around the facility pillars of green fire shot through the ground towards the sky. Through their com-links both Sergeant and Colonel were able to hear the screams of pain and fear of those unfortunate enough to have been standing where the pillars had erupted or those who got crushed by the debris thrown through the air.

_This is an bloody apocalypse!_ Milton's mind was racing with possibilities to escape this pandemonium but since he didn't know where the next pillar would erupt he had no way of _guessing_ where safe was. And as with the original pillar it was over as quickly as it had begun and an almost mockingly silence laid itself over the frightened humans.

"Wha- what the hell did just happen?" Milton turned to Loster at the sound of his shaking voice.

"The Vespene-Gas... it was ignited and exploded." Now both Loster and Milton turned towards Colonel Hauler who was standing with his back to them and was overlooking the damage caused by the explosion.

"The reservoirs under the ground caught fire and the pressure which built up was so great that it broke through the earth... just like a volcano." The colonel looked over his shoulder at both of them while giving this explanation. With a jolt he swiveled on the spot and shouted towards a group of frightened technicians:

"Get that equipment running again and call HQ! I want a dozen dropships to pick up the injured! And tell them to sent some SCVs with materials. I want a fully operational base at this spot in less than three days!"

Several marines were startled by the sudden outburst from the usually level-headed Colonel but the technicians instantly went to work to get the equipment running again. Milton was still shaking inside from this sudden encounter with death. It was strange: they could face of against a seemingly endless swarm of alien bugs but one reminder of mother nature that she was in charge can sent whole armies cowering like frightened children. Milton was jolted out of his thoughts when he realized that the Colonel was standing right in front of him.

"Sergeant, gather your men." with that he turned around and headed towards a group of medics who were treating some of the injured.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, sarge." Milton didn't respond, instead he set out to gather his squad.

Exhausted, tired, run over by a tank. That was how Colonel Hauler felt at the moment. The catastrophic explosion had ruined the good mood of the marines after the victory against the Zerg. At the moment he was standing behind one of the technicians who was trying to get a signal from the rescue-squad which he had sent into the refinery. But they had lost contact shortly before the explosion. But there were good news as well: HQ had acknowledged their request and was sending in several dropships in order to set up a base and retrieve the wounded. He cast another glance at the camp. He knew it could have been far worse, the majority of the eruptions had happened outside of their perimeter and losses were only few. He could hear as Sergeant Milton and his squad stood in line beside the four medics who already stood behind him.

"Although the probability is almost zero, it is possible that one of the rescue-squad survived this. That's why _we _are going in." He turned around and looked at each marine in turn.

"We have two objectives: find any survivors if possible and find out what caused this explosion. I don't want any Zerg suddenly streaming out of that hole without my knowledge." None of the assembled marines said a word and since their visors were down he couldn't see their expressions. But he didn't need to in order to know that they would follow his orders.

"Alright let's move out!"

Nova stumbled through the smoke-filled corridor. Each step was shakingly taken and bore a chance of knocking her down. Her vision was blurry and her mind a mess. She had woken up at the base of a wall, sunshine entering the corridor through a million of cracks and making the smoke appear so much blacker than it was. She hadn't remembered a thing and the only feeling inside her was coldness. Slowly she had gotten up and started walking in a direction which was how she ended up here. The goggles covering her eyes were smashed and the lenses broken so the sunlight was the only thing illuminating her way. Her foot missed and she crashed to the ground, too weak to catch herself with her arms. So she laid on the ground taking heavy breaths, sweat running down her sooth covered face. Something was coming. She could feel the vibrations in the floor. With extreme effort she was able to lift her head and through her blurry vision she could make out a single shape: a scythe-like arm hovering above her head. Then the exhaustion took over and everything went black.


End file.
